Klaus

Quick question, maybe off-topic: How is the pilot light affected by the fly eye microprisms ? Is it weaker, less defined or is it similar between the two models?

I once read in a forum that this is/was a frequent issue with the shutter on the E-PL3. Apparently, a hearty whack on your knee (or two) could get those back into operation. Unfortunately I can't find that thread anymore. I never tried it myself, obviously this is not exactly the kind of treatment that the Olympus manual suggests and I would not try this as the new "power-on routine". I guess getting it repaired is the most reliable solution, but the "whacking" might save you when you're on a trip?

I think you can directly link this to the DIY section 😉

My favorite pic this year is rom a dive in a local quarry. My wife and son didn't want to join me for a dive there (as almost always) because "it's cold and there's only dead wood and no fish". I found a buddy through the social media site of a local dive center and we enojoyed a really cool dive. A storm had broken off some branches from the trees just a few days before and that made the scenery a bit "surreal" in places. I'm cheating a bit but just to add a picture for the "feeling" of that dive. The favorite pic is the last one I took on that day, just before we were getting out - a simple look along the edge. I like it because of the landscape and because I accidentally even had a very small pike in it (see if you can find it). Technically, the shot is a horribly underexposed mess, but I was astonished how much I could pull it up from the raw-file. I'm giving a second life to old photography gear for my attemps at underwater shooting. This is an Olympus E-PL5 in the PT-EP05L housing (fits with some customization), the 14-42 RII kit zoom and an Inon UWL-H100 wetlens without the dome (let me know if you have a dome to sell!)

I can already see that new full frame kit ….

I really like the solution with the readers that Ben presented - maybe not ideal for any situation but likely good enough for a lot. Certainly as a low-threshold entry into the aging photographer theme 🙂 I have two questions, Ben: 1) Did the add-on glasses ever get in the way with your regulator? I suppose this could happen when they slip down below the mask, but I simply cannot wrap my head around if that would cause a problem or not. 2) glass lenses lose a lot of their refractive power in water vs. air because water is much denser. I suppose this is similar for the plastic lenses In the readers, though some of those materials have a higher refractive index than glass. In any case, I assume that you are using stronger lenses than for reading above water, how much stronger would you suggest as a first try? Thanks, Klaus

First of all, I think this is a really nice shot and the pose of the octopus(?) is really cool. You probably tried cropping out just this guy in a vertical, maybe even b/w. Almost looks like (s)he’s ashamed of skinny-dipping… I don’t know a lot about UW photography, but I am not sure that more shadows necessarily translates into greater perceived depth. Your strobe is off-center already (towards the top left, shadows are a bit to the bottom right). I think the suggestion to go a bit lower yet is a good one, maybe it’s not that easy when freediving to try a couple of different angles. But as said above, definitely a great moment to capture!

... a (northen) German way to say Hi. Nice to be in good company!